Case.



A. W. WADSWORTH.

CASE.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.6.1919.

1,321,867. I Patented Nov. 18, 191%}.

v I 0 Z0 is Wain/eases: Y I venaar ,v i 'vcij 3 I cz ukglix,

sures PAE'ZENT OFFICE;

ARTHUR w. wanswoa'rn, or roar memes, KENTUCKY, nss'ronoa 'ro rm: wens-'- WOBTH WATCH CASE COMFANI, 0F DAYTON, KENTUCKY,

KENTUCKY.

s; coaronuronox CASE.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, ARTHUR'W. WADS- woR'rH, a citizen of the United States, and a' resident of Fort Thomas, in the county of 1 Campbell and State. of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gases,-of which thefollowing is a.

specification.

My invention relates to 'cases, such as watch cases and the like, and its object is to. simplify the construction. and increase the, strength and durability of watch cases or the like having one ormore appendages. -A :t1 'J.r-' 'ther objectis to increase the accuracy with which the different parts of the case fit to.-.

'gether when. the case is completed and there'- by render the case more proof "against the entrance of foreign substances, such as dirt or moisture. It is also the object of my in-,

ventionto' lessen the cost of construction of watch cases.

My invention consists in the new and improved article of manufacture herein described and claimed, as well as in the com bination of parts and in the details of construction and arrangement of parts assoc1-.

, ated together with this new and improved article of manufacture as will hereinafter be more fully described and claimed.

In the drawing: Y Figure l'is a front view of a watch'case embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section on a plane corresponding'to theline 2-2 of Fig. 1; r

Fig. 3' is a ventical longitudinal section on a plane correspondingto the line 3' -3 of Fig. l; i d F ig. 4: is a-detail side elevation of the watch-case center;

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the same; Fig. '6 is a front view of the movement. 1

Fig; 8 is a longitudinal section, corre-' sponding to Fig. '3, of a modified watch case center;

Fig. 9 is a similar view showingianother preliminary stages shown by solid lines and bydotted lines.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented 18,1919, Application mammar c, 1919. Serial no. 289,828. l

. their parts thereafter formed being-shown I- is that of a wrist-watch'having strap lugs at opposite sides through which pass the straps for holding the watch ona 'persons wrist. The other appendage which this watch case has is the stem-lug. It will be understood,

however, that my invention .is not limited to cases of the particular design shown, but-is applicable to wrist-watches of other designs or other kinds of Watches wherein it is necessary to provide the case with .one or more appendages.

As shown in Figs. 1 to 7, what corresponds to the watch-case tions is made up -what I here term the watch-case center 1 and the movement-ring.' The watchw center 1, throughout. the greater part of its extent,

nter in .usual canstrucg (if-two pieces. These are is a narrow flat ring 2, which shape is modi: I

fied to the extent of having at opposite sides I the strap lugs .3, each consisting of the arms 4 projecting out from the ring-shaped part 2 and having their outer ends joined by the straight round-bar 5. These arins 3 upon the ring-shaped part of the center 1 are spaced such a distance and the bar; connecting them is of such length as to. admit around the bar5 between the lugs 3 the strap 6 (shown by dotted lines only in Figs. 1 .and 3). Not

only do these lugs 3 extend laterally outwardly in their spaced-apart relation, but

they curve backwardly so as to throw the a bars 5 considerably belw the:plane of the back of the main ring-shaped partof. the

watch-case center '1. Midway between. the

two strap-lugs at the top is. the stem-lug or projection for forming-the tube that: admits the setting and winding mechanism.

' The inside of this mar internally threaded. The inner part of the ring-shaped part Y I of the center 1 is made truly circular and. is

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view ofthe same as J cpns'trugtion, which I termthelmovementring 7, 1s simply'a rather brdad, thin, circular ring externally threaded to screw. into the internal threads of the plart 1... It is of such greater: width than t e part-l into which it is screwedthat it is adapted to pro j'ect a material distanceh at the front and rear when it has been screwed into theproper positionin thepart 1; Interiorly,"at the rear, this ring 7 preferably has the annular boss 8 for suitably supporting the watchmovement in the well-known manner. It

will be understood that the movement may be mounted in this ring in any suitable manner, and this detail of watch construction is not a part of the present invention and need not be any more fully shown or described herein.

When this ring 7 is thusscrewed into the center 1 so that it projects asuitable distance at front and rear, its projmting threaded edge parts are thus adapted to receive. respectively, the back 9 and the bezel 10 to screw up tightly against the surrounding plane surfaces of the centerl. The bezel -l0.is here shown as supporting a crystal:

11, which is shown as being mounted in a urll-known manner. It will be-understood that any suitable crystal may. be mounted in" the'bezel in an suitable manner; .or that any other desir frontapiece may take the place of the bezel 10 in crystal 11, as

circumstances may requiri. 1 n' 'the'provision of yarious kinds of watch c'ases or 'movemerits, or other cases.

In the modification shown there ,is no separate movement ringz th'e'eenter the like and the back.

1 having thefront 'and rear annulanp'rojection's 12;andi13, respectiyely, which'are exteriorly threaded to receive the bezel or x As shown in F 9 and 10',;the center 1'! has the front., an ear a nnular rejections 12 and 13 which arenotexterna ly threaded but are sli htly undercut so that the bezel or theiike and the back:- may be snapped on in the well-known manner.-

metal, of a suitable gage a In'any of these examples, according to the preferred embodiment of my invention, the center 1, l or 1'-', as the case may be, has

the strap-lugs 3, including their 'arms Land, bars 5, and the stein-lug 14, all formed integrally of a. single piece of metal. f This is preferably done bycutt' froiushcet ank' which drawn and pressed into shape in such a man nor that a minimum "of machine or hand work is necessary theieonafter this shaping operation, s e In the'eXaihpI'e' f' 'FigLs. 1 to 7 where this centeris to ifeceiyethe'sc'parate.ring 7 it"is,

- "after being"thus"sliapedwith its integral lugs; bored and;thradddloh' its interior, as before The 'movoip'cntring 7 which has bemd'arwn, pressed "motherwise suitably shaped ,'iind'-which has been threzuled on its extc'riohls screwed injothc zenter 1 with its front and-rear e'tlgcs'projccb ing as before described. Then, whileit is he (I in this position, it 'is "fastened in the rental. As here shown," this-isdonie by means of'a pin 15 which is driven into holes" bored through one side of the c'enter 1 and Lashes? theadjacent'side of the ring 7. After the ring 7 has thus been fixed in the center 1, a passage is bored through the stem-lug 14.-

and the adjacent side of the ring 7 to admit the sham-arbor 16 (Fig. 2). These parts are now ready to receive the watch movement and the back and bezel, is before described.

Before putting the ring 7 into the part 1, it is preferable to grind and lap the front and rear surfaces of the part 1 so that they This is due to the inevitable slight play permitted between the two parts thus threaded. wgether. It'is thus possible for the back and bezel, which also have the very slight play between their threads and those of the parts 7, to adjust themselves perfectly to the center, even though some of these parts should liappen not to be threaded exactly along an axisat right angles to the planes of contact; In fact, it is almost impossible my improved construction permits of a practically invisible and impenetrable oint, even though such inaccuracies in threading are not t5-beavoided.

-The use of the separate ring 7 has another advantage in that the thread of the annular projections or risers constituted by the e es of this ring are continuous up to the at faces of,-the center 1. Thus; full advantage is taken of the hei ht of the projection or riser; wl-hereas, if.t e thread is chased on an integrally formed riser as shown in Figfi8,'the thread must'be discontinued short of the adjacent faces of the center to provide clearance for the'thr'ea-ding tool, generally sacrificing .from one-fourth to one-fifth of "the'heig th of the riser. This is alsobtrue if the thread is spun on the integrally formed riser; because a fillet will have to be left at the bottom, and a eorr'es onding chamfer will have to be made on t e edge ofthe back or the bezel to clear this filletj There is, therefore, a loss of thread whether the thread is chased or spun on the integral user. I

It will be understood, however, that the center'with its integrally formed appendages mayalso have these risers 12 and'13 formed integrally with it, as shown in Fig.

8, should it not be desired to avoid the disadvantages just pointed out; and when theto insure Lsueh accuracy of threading; but

back and bezel are to snap' on, this forma' tion of the annular projections or risers 12' and 13 with the center, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, is not attended with serious dadvantage. It will be seen in such examples as those of 8, 9 and 10 the entirestructure of the watch case, with the exceptionof its'back and bezel or other closures, is made integrally of-one piecefot metal.

When the watch-case center is'thus made, it's projections or risers 12 and. 13 of Fig. 8, or 12., and 13' of Figs. ,9 and 10, are advantageously formed as indicated in Fig.

' 10.'- That is, the watch-case center is pressed into'shape with its appenda es, such as the strap-lug?) integral therewit and-with extra metal in its interior wall. 4 An annular oove 17 should. be formed in this inner wall, thus dividing this extra metal into two parts 18 and 19. Then these parts may be pressed outward in opposite directions by spinning and may thus be made to. form the oppositely projecting risers 12 and 13' of Ei 9 -and' 10; or, it will be understood that t ese arts when thus pressed out will be externa y threaded toformthe. projections or risers 12 and 13 of Fig. 8.

It will be seen that whether the annular projections or risers be provided by inserting a separate ring as in Figs. 1 to 7, or whether they be formed integrally with the center as just described, the watch-case center, according to the disclosure hereimmay be blanked out of heavy sheet metalwit much less waste of material and labor than if the material from which the center is made were thick enough to form these risers in situ. It will be seen that the strap-lu s,

although ultimately being set back from t e watch-case center, are readily formed out of the flat sheet when the piece is blanked; and when they may be curved back during the pressing operation which gives the piece its final form. Likewise, the 'stem-lug or pendant-tube 14 requires 'no extra thickness, but is given its rou'nd formation, in which'it is preferably very slightly thicker than the main part of the center, during the pressing and forming operation. It will be understood thatthese observations apply,"

whether the risers are formed. of a separate ring or are formed integral with the centhe parts such as always occurs where. these brazing or the like.

ter,-as hereinbefore described.

The important advantage of forming the appendages, such as the strap-lugs and the pendant-tube or stem-lug integral with the center, is the elimination of distortion of appendages are made separately and then secured on the center by soldering, welding,

In my improved construction, all of these one piece practically 1n the sameoperations, and there is no need of heating the parts are formed of putt at any time.- Therefore, the formation of the threads and the truing oi: the faces of the watch-case center. and other operations requiring great accuracy, are not disturbed as is always the case where the part is heated in soldering, welding or brazing, and is thereby warped and stretched or. shrunken out of shape to properly re ceive the back, bezel or otherclosure.

. In addition to these advantages of having the parts integral, there is also, of course, the saving of highly skilled labor which is re uired to fasten the se aratel formed anr l P y i pendages on the watch-case center accord ing to constructlhns heretofore lllSSlOSBil.

Moreover, the watch-case center with its M appendages integrally formed is a much more substantial and durable article. Where these appendages are made separately and fastened on, they are very seldom securely part between its two oppositeflat faces, and

depending upon a later-operation tosupply the lateral annular ,prmections or risers, there isa saving of material and labor anda great increase in the accuracy of fittin of the parts of the case and greatly adds If one of the strap-lugs strength and durability. While I have shown and described particularly a wrist-watch, it will be under stood that my invention is applicable 'to other watches, as .well as to other'chses such as those for compasses and the like, Therefore, while certain constructional details are deemed preferable in connection with my invention, and I have shown and described theserather specifically in elucidating th'e construction and use of my invention, as 15 required, I do not wish to be understood as being limited to such pre 4 2 cise showing and description, but having thus'fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent is:

"1. As a new and improved article of n1anufacture, a case center having an appendage integral with its peripheral wall, and having substantially plane opposite faces, said center and said peripheral pro jections being blanked from a sheet of metal of substantially the thickness of said canter between said faces, and projections or IiSEZS around adyacent to the nner wall of-said center to hold closures on said center against said faces, said projections or risers being brought into place by an additional operation after said center has been blanked from said sheet. t

' 2.. The method of making a case center having an appendage integral with its peripheral Wall and having substantially plane opposite faces, and havin projections or risers around adjacent'to t 1e inner wall of said center to hold closures'on said center against said faces, which comprises blankin said center from a. sheet of,ineta-1 of su stantially the thickness of said center between said faces; and bringing said projections or risers into place by an additional operation after said center hns been blanked from said sheet.

- ARTHUR W. WADSWORTH; Witnesses IRENE PARKER,

HELEN M. MAKER. 

